A microschool that intends to be a real school
Microschools have arrived in Ontario the way they arrived everywhere else: a handful of families, a rented room, and a founder who got tired of waiting. Much of what they've worked out is right, and we've borrowed it.
Where we differ is ambition about permanence. This is meant to be a school your child can finish, with a site, a staff and a Grade 6 to leave from.
What we take from the microschool model
A student works at the level they're at in each subject. An older child explaining something to a younger one is a normal part of the day here, and explaining is where understanding gets tested.
Individual learning paths, so nobody is held on a page they finished in October or pushed past something they haven't got. Small groups, each with a teacher and an assistant. No bells.
What we don't take
Impermanence. A pod that runs for two years and dissolves when the founding parent's own children age out has cost those families a great deal, and the ones left behind have to start again.
We're also not a supervised-self-study operation. Software has a place in practice and drill, and it's not a substitute for somebody who can tell why a child is stuck.
Groups and numbers
Small bands, each with a teacher and an assistant. We're setting the exact numbers with the founding families, because a ratio published before the money is understood is a promise waiting to be broken.
It also lets a school open at 25 students, where seven separate grades would need 84. That is the difference between opening and staying a plan.
Join the founding families list
The Academy opens when the founding cohort is full. Families on the list get first places, help set the first year's calendar, and keep the founding rate for as long as their child is enrolled.